Gadget Hacks How-Tos

How To: Send a text message from a Blackberry Curve cell phone

A full QWERTY keyboard makes typing out a text message simple on the Blackberry Curve. Short cut keys may take some time to get used to, but once mastered, texting will only take a second. Watch this video cell phone tutorial and learn how to send an SMS text message on a Blackberry Curve. Send a text message from a Blackberry Curve cell phone.

How To: Send, receive, and check email on a Blackberry Curve

Blackberry pioneered the idea of taking email with you wherever you go, as long as you're shackled to that Blackberry. Checking email is so easy from your Curve, so you can send and receive messages anytime, anywhere. Watch this video cell phone tutorial and learn how to send, receive, and check email on a Blackberry Curve. Send, receive, and check email on a Blackberry Curve.

How To: Use the Bluetooth capability on a Blackberry Curve

Bluetooth capability allows your mobile phone to connect to a computer, lap top, a wireless head set, or even your car. With most states rushing to pass no cell phones while driving laws, a Bluetooth device keeps you connected. Watch this video cell phone tutorial and learn how to hook up and use the Bluetooth features on your Blackberry Curve. Use the Bluetooth capability on a Blackberry Curve.

How To: Change your IP address using a Linksys router

Learn how to change your IP address using a Linksys router in simple steps. First search for your IP address in the internet and find it from any of the websites available. Now go to your Linksys setup page by accessing it with your username and password. Go to Mac address code and change the last set of digits by increasing or decreasing a value. Now save the settings and reset your modem and router. Finally check your new address to finish.

How To: Use the camera of the Nokia N97

This video will show you how to use the camera of Nokia N97. To use the camera of Nokia N97: Turn on the camera and open the lens cover or press the Capture key. In your view finder, you can see: Exit icon, Camera icon, Flash icon ,Expand Toolbar and Options icon. Tap the screen to use the Zoom Slider. You can zoom in or out by scrolling the Zoom Slider. To take a photo, tap the Camera icon. Once a photo is taken, another icons appear: Back icon, Message icon, Email icon, Trash Can icon, and ...

How To: Make phone calls from your PC

In this video Dionne shows how phone calls can be made by PC. There are a number of softwares available in the internet for making phone calls, but the best and the cheapest is Skype. Skype is easy to download and install in your computer. Then you can enter the contacts and their phone numbers. After that you have to buy Skype credits so as to start making calls anywhere in the world. Calling from Skype is so cheap that if you buy a credit of 10 pounds, it will last many days no matter where...

How To: Simply change your user name on Facebook

Steps on how to change your user name on Facebook. 1. Click to open your internet browser. 2. Open your Facebook account. 3. Bring cursor to the Account tab found on the upper right corner. 4. Click Account tab to open. 5. Point cursor to Account Settings and click it. The My Account page will open. 6. Click on the Name tab so that your name will appear. 7. Delete your First and Last Names and replace with the new First and Last Names that you want to use. 8. Click on Change Name. 9. Click Hi...

How To: Text message with an iPhone

Learn how to send an instant message on your iPhone. Tap the Messaging Icon with your finger. To compose a new message, tap the New Text icon in the upper-right hand corner. Enter a phone number or a name from your contact list into the "To:" field. Type in text message using the keyboard at the bottom of the screen. When message is complete, tap Send. To return to message list, tap the Messaging Icon again. To text a reply to a previous conversation, tap on that conversation, add text and ta...

How To: Make a custom ringtone for your iPhone using iTunes

This video will show you how to make a custom ringtone for your iPhone using iTunes. Do the following to get a custom ringtone for your iPhone: You need to edit the song of your choice to 35 seconds or less. Convert it to a .m4a file, and rename that file as .m4r. Now all you need to do is drag the file into the ringtone section of iTunes and you now have a custom ringtone.

How To: Make Google say your name

In this video the instructor shows how to make Google say your name. To do this, first, open up your favorite web browser and go to the website GoogleMyWay. This opens a page where it says that you can design your own Google web page. Now type your name into the first box and click to make it. This generates a URL for you. Copy the URL into the address bar of the browser and open the page. This opens a Google-like website with your name on it. Now, if you like to make this your home page, the...

How To: Create YouTube playlists and get an embed code

In this video, the author shows how one can make one's own playlists on YouTube, and also get the code which can be embedded on one's website or blog. All one has to do' according to the author, is to first load all the videos which one wants in a playlist and pause them. Then one has to click the 'Playlists' option under the video pane. In the drop-down list which opens, one can choose one of the existing playlists or create a new one, and then, simply click the 'add' button. This action has...

How To: Properly charge your iPhone or iTouch

Learn how to properly charge your iPhone or iPod Touch in simple steps. Whenever you charge you iPhone let it charge until your battery is completely full. If you unplug in between that point will become the maximum capacity of the battery. Remember not empty you battery charge completely while using your iPhone. Don't use your computer often to charge your battery, it would be wise to use a charger. Whenever you are not using your iPhone make sure to keep it locked.

How To: Clear Your Cache on Firefox

Steps to clear the cache on Firefox and delete unnecessary temporary files from your computer. In your Firefox browser go to TOOLS. Click on OPTIONS. Then go to PRIVACY tab. Click on PRIVATE DATA section and click on SETTINGS. Now you can clear the following items: browsing history, download history, saved form information, cache, cookies, saved passwords, authenticated sessions. Check what you'd like to remove, specially the cache option. Mow click on OK button. click on CLEAR NOW and click ...

How To: Delete a Yahoo account

Learn how to delete your old Yahoo or Yahoo mail account in simple steps. First open your web browser and enter the web address for Yahoo to open it. Now log into your account using your Yahoo username and password. Go the account termination page, confirm your account termination and enter code give. Finally press 'Yes' and enter your password . Now your Yahoo or Yahoo mail account will be deleted.

How To: Block caller ID on your iPhone

This video will show you how to block caller ID on the iPhone 3G. Follow these steps to block caller ID on the iPhone 3G: Go to your settings menu and click on the phone option. Click on the 'show my caller ID option', and turn it ON or OFF. Now your number won't show up if you call someone who you think may want to harass you once they have your number.

How To: Delete an old Yahoo account

Learn how to delete your old Yahoo account from this video in simple steps. First open your web browser on your computer and go to the Yahoo home page. Now sign into your account using your username and password. Now copy and paste this link "http://edit.yahoo.com/config/ delete_user" in your address bar. Enter your password to confirm the deletion of your account. Finally enter the code to confirm and delete your account.

How To: Block websites without software

This video shows you how to block websites without having to use software. This technique is ideal for blocking out pages such as MySpace or Facebook. Go to your C:, Windows, System 32, drivers, then 'etc'. Double click on your host file to read it with notepad. To block a website, do the following: Copy where it says '127.0.0.1' and paste it below. Next to it, type in the name of the website you wish to block, for example: http://www.myspace.com. Repeat the above step to block as many sites ...

How To: Clear Your Browser's Cache with Internet Explorer

This short video tutorial will teach you how to clean your browser's cache in Internet Explorer. Follow these quick steps to clear your cache of cookies and make it run faster: Open Internet Explorer. Type "About:Blank" and click the "Go" button. Click on "Tools", "Internet Options", "Delete" and "Yes". Click "OK" and then "Close". Your cache is now clean of cookies and your computer should be faster.

How To: Use the camcorder app on the iPhone

Two to Three Minute App Reviews gives an introduction to operating the camcorder app on the iPhone. Open the app, which opens just like your camera app. Tap the "record" button to start recording your video. When you are finished recording your video, tap the "stop" button, which will bring up your recently recorded videos. Choose the file you have just recorded. To export the file to email or save to your iPhone, tap the "export" button.

How To: Save music from MySpace to your computer easily

Brizdo shows you how to download free music from MySpace using the Real player in this walk through video. This video shows how to first select download and install the real player that is most suitable for free use. Next by doing a MySpace search for the artist and visiting the MySpace page of that artist the music track that are on the artist's page can be downloaded by a few clicks. The downloaded tracks can be found in the Real players download directory usually in 'My Documents'.

How To: Add a contact to the address book of a Nokia N97

Here you will see how to add a contact to the address book of a Nokia N97. Follow these steps to add a contact to your Nokia M97's address book: From the home screen, tap the "Contacts" icon and then tap "Add New Contact". Enter in the contact information and tap "Done". Tap "Exit" to return to the home screen. To set a contact as one of your favorite contacts, tap "Add to Favorites", and select the contact you wish to add as a favorite. Tap "OK" You can also do things such as add a called ID...

How To: Clear your history in Safari

GetNetWise demonstrates how to clear your browsing history in the Safari v1 internet browser for Mac OS X. The first step is to locate the toolbar at the top of your browser. The next step is to find and click on "History" from the options on the toolbar at the top of your Safari browser. Clicking on "History" will cause a drop down menu to appear on the screen. Next, look down at the bottom of the history and find the "Clear History" option. The final step is to click on the "Clear History" ...

How To: Check if someone has blocked you on any IM program

In this tutorial, we learn how to check if someone has blocked you on an IM program. To do this, go to Yahoo messenger, because it allows you to add yourself and block yourself. If someone has suddenly showed up as offline on your list and you want to check if they blocked you, visit the website, Yahoo Block Checker. Once you get to this site, type in the screen name for the person under "yahoo id" and you will be able to see if their real status is online or not. You can do this for MSN, AIM...

How To: Make a MySpace DIV overlay layout

Here we will be making a website page layout for your Myspace account. A very common thing that people find difficult is the alignment of things such as text boxes and other DIV's. This video will demonstrate the proper meaning of alignment, as we have an already misaligned page to visually work with here. -To watch in high quality: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItUhjfqcLo0&fmt=18 -For help with source code: http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/6/12/1956714/1divblueblack.txt -Insert this code t...

How To: Increase battery life on LG phones

This video describes how to increase battery life on most of the LG phones", for that first we have to enter into the service by typing the numbers "##77647269700" and then clicking the call button. Now it will ask for 6 digit "service code" to enter into the service. Just type "000000" as a code and it will enter into the "services" Menu and from the menu click on the "Network Select" and from that choose "Mode Preference", by default "Digital Only Hybrid" mode will be in selected. Now to sa...

How To: Delete a Facebook application

In this instructional video on how to use Facebook, you will learn how to remove or delete applications from your Facebook profile. The author guides you through the process, step by step, on how to navigate to and find the page containing all the applications associated with your profile. She then leads you through the steps to find the application you wish to delete, and shows you where the "Remove" button is located, and explains that you can either remove the application completely from y...

How To: Skip YouTube ads

In this video, viewers learn how to skip YouTube pre-roll ads. These ads last 15-20 seconds long and appear at the beginning of some YouTube videos. To skip these ads, users simply reload the page. Once they reloaded the page, the video will automatically start. This video contains voice narration for guidance and a visual demonstration for viewers to easily observe and follow along. This video will benefit those viewers who watch videos on YouTube and want to avoid this problem.

How To: Jailbreak an iPhone or iPod Touch firmware 3.0

George3694 will show you how to jailbreak an iPhone or iPod touch firmware 3.0. This will work on the iPod touch first and second generation, the iPhone original and 3GS. Download Red snow software from the link provided. Click on browse download firmware and put it on your desktop. Next upload the firmware to your device. Install both features, make sure your device is plugged in and turned off. Follow the instructions and put device in DF mode. Just wait as the software loads to your machine.

How To: Wrap text around an image in WordPress

This video describes how to wrap text around an image in Wordpress. The video starts with an example describing the technique, showing a video left justified with text flowing around the right side of the image and then vice-versa. He then goes into the Wordpress editor and inserts an image into a new post. After the image has been inserted into the post, the video shows how to set the image alignment to the left. Once this setting is complete the text will then wrap around your image.

How To: Add context menus using Firefox with Tekzilla

If you're frustrated with trying to figure out how to open up your downloads in Firefox watch this video. Veronica shows how you can download an add-on for Mozilla Firefox. This add-on helps to streamline your downloaded content and makes it more like Internet Explorer. Overall great video for Firefox users as other tips are discussed. Never search for a download again! Just watch this short video clip that gives the name of the add-on and the instructions on downloading it!

How To: Edit iPhone or iPod system strings using Winterboard

In this video from George3694 of TheiPhonePress he explains how to edit your iPhone or iPod system strings using Winterboard. First you download the system strings folder from the link provided in the comments section. Then click all the way into SpringBoard.strings. Once in there you change the original strings to the ones you like. So for instance you can change "slide to unlock" to "slide to unleash" on your iPhone. After you change it you can close and save it. Then you launch your SSH pr...

How To: Solder wires

Soldering properly is a skill every electronics and computer hobbyist needs. Proper soldering appears deceptively simple, but it requires practice. One has to do the steps below to solder the wires which is as follows, First Clean the area you wish to solder and scrape the wire down to the metal and then wiping it clean with alcohol or acetone. Then you want to use a rosin-core solder for electronic applications, which comes normally with coils. Tin the tip of the first Wrap one or two inches...

How To: Use the Firefox 3.5+ private browsing feature

In this ClearTechInfo video the instructor shows how to use the Firefox 3.5+ private browsing feature. To use this feature you need a Firefox version 3.5 or more. Now to start a private browsing session go to tools and click on Private Browsing button. This will trigger a new private browsing session that will now store any browser history, search history or any temporary internet files for that session. But this will still allow you to download and keep files and also add bookmarks. This vid...

How To: Jailbreak an iPod Touch or iPhone firmware 3.1.2

Blackra1n is one of the easiest jailbreak programs made. This jailbreak works for iPod Touch 1G, 2G, and the iPhone 1G and 3G. For an iPhone 3GS or an iPod 3G, this will be a tethered jailbreak, meaning that if you want to reboot your device, you will have to reconnect it to your computer and re-jailbreak. For iPhones, it will also update your base band, meaning that if you were using a service provider that wasn't AT&T, it will reset it to use AT&T again. This jailbreak is very easy. Go to b...

How To: Change your profile background on YouTube

In this video from Tiffany0x we learn how to change your profile background on youtube. First she goes to google, then clicks on images and type in whatever image you're looking for for your background. Then copy the image's link in your browser. Then go to youtube. Click My Account. Then you'll see Channel Settings. Click that, then click Channel design. In Advanced Customizations you'll see a place where you can put in a Background URL. Paste the URL into that box. Once you have done that, ...

How To: Solder magnet wires

Do you have magnet wires that you need to solder together to get your device working again? This video can help you immensely! Soldering is when you put two wires together using a soldering iron so that even cut wires can be made useful again. Great care and time is taken into soldering these wires properly. Watch the video to learn the proper techniques of soldering magnet wires. The wires shown in this video are extremely thin and are used for small, ready-to-fly airplanes.

How To: Change fonts on your BlackBerry

On GetConnectedTV, Darci Larocque, Blackberry Expert, explains how to change fonts on your Blackberry. Have you ever wanted to change your Blackberry font and perhaps make it bigger? From the home screen, scroll to the wrench and hit options. Then, scroll down to the screen and the keyboard. Where it says, "font family" and "font size" you can change it. Hit the space bar and the phrase "the quick brown fox" changes. Press escape and save and you'll see that your font is different.